Exonyms ddibwynt

I tweeted so prolifically yesterday that even the most inobservant of you probably know that I was on a train through Wales.  Some of you are probably already on the edge of your seat in anticipation of my latest train-related blog post.

Please control your excitement, however.  I regret to inform you that there are no tales of romance.  There isn’t even much of a rant, having instead added my frustrations to the cloud of annoyance with Arriva Trains Wales which is already present on Twitter. There isn’t, if I am honest, much to say about trains, either.

Still, my story begins with me sat on a station platform, where I was waiting for a connection.  I was watching the electronic sign list the stops for the next train:

Filton Abbey Wood

Bristol

Bath Spa

Bradford-Upon Avon

…

Westbury

…

Salisbury

…

Southampton Central

…

Admittedly this was probably only marginally more interesting than watching paint dry, but please bear with me.  As the place names scrolled across in front of me, the computerised announcer then also decided to read them out.

“Filton Abbey Wood,” he said, “Bristol Temple Meads, Caerfaddon, Bradford-Upon-Avon, … Westbury … Caersallog … Southampton Central … “

It was as though he had a cough.  Or a speech impediment. But how hard is it to say “Bath Spa?”

I’m sure that it’s of great historical importance that the Welsh language has some exonyms.  But even the most ardent of Welsh speakers must surely know that there is a place called “Salisbury” (that or they’ve never crossed the border, in which case it’s irrelevant anyway). 

Don’t get me wrong, I am actually a big fan of the Welsh language, and the fact that it has not been allowed to die out.  It just seems a bit incongruous (and a little bit comical) that Arriva can’t afford proper trains, but someone has to pay for information to be given in Welsh.  And presumably for someone to stand on the platform to reassure concerned passengers that the train does still stop in Bath…

Comments

Tim said…
Ha, you did tickle me with "Arriva can't afford proper trains"! I shared your views entirely until one cold morning last week when mother and I were disembarking at Cardiff Central, looking forward to a day of shopping. As we miserably left the cold discomfort of our ATW British Rail Class 143 Pacer (the type of non-decent train I think you were talking of?) imagine my surprise when I spotted, there in the steamy Welsh morning mist, a British Rail Class 175 Coradia in ATW colours! Now, having completed a journey on a North West Coradia, I assure you there are more comfortable ways to travel, but surely, these mark a huge step up for ATW? Or am I just being one of those slightly crazy people who tend to linger around stations? Whatever, I have marked myself as a bit of a train spotter! ;)
Tue Sep 06, 08:07:00 PM GMT
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

the purpose of religion

One of the things which featured in the recent debate on this post is the idea that “religion should be about improving oneself”. This has got me thinking; ‘religion’ of course takes many forms, but in the vast majority of cases I disagree with this. To paraphrase MarkC, religion is certainly something which as a by-product might help with “improving oneself”, but however you measure self-improvement it is not the sole point, certainly not in the Judeo-Christian case. In fact, if your sole aim is to “improve yourself”, why waste your time playing around with the trappings of religion? Most religions are based around the idea of faith in God, and that, surely, is the point. Considering Christianity specifically, Jesus said “ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself ” and so ‘religion’ should not be in danger of becoming all about wo...
Read more

atheism is a matter of faith, not science: the debate continues

Following the letters page in last Wednesday's Metro and the follow-up comment on this post I’m pleased to see that the beginnings of a debate are brewing, and I intend to use this post to pick up the baton again. Unsurprisingly, I’m going to start by responding to the aforementioned comment. I apologise if my tone was deemed to be a bit sharp, but I have no hesitation in defending the point I was trying to make. According to dictionary.com , faith can be defined as “belief that is not based on proof.” As there is no proof that God does not exist, belief that God does not exist (i.e. atheism) must be faith. Now, I take your point that “as human beings we are always revising and fine tuning what we hold to be true based on the evidence to hand, what we discover and our ability to determine what is probable or improbable.” To digress slightly, that is why switching on the Large Hadron Collider is going to be something of a milestone, as it could eit...
Read more

milk and sugar?

I've been debating with my housemate as to whether tea or coffee is more popular world-wide. We've both done quick web-searches, and we've both got results to match our different claims. I say tea, he says coffee. So, to settle the debate, it's down to you. Do you prefer tea or coffee? Please leave a comment below - one word is all it takes.
Read more